Bigotry is not only abhorrent—it's also impoverished, fragile, and stupid. It is impoverished because it cannot imagine a better future for all. It is fragile because it rests on the trembling foundations of "the best of us is better than the worst of them." Stupid because it's easily manipulated.
#queryingauthors if you write #SFF, my virtual writing group of querying authors is looking for 1-2 more members. We're a small group sharing advice and critique on select projects, and offering support as we navigate the complexities of publishing. Let me know if you're interested in joining us!
Infographic titled "In Memoriam: The Coastal Massacres of March 2025 — A memorial to the victims of sectarian violence in Syria and documentation of the systemic nature of the March 2025 massacres." Scale of the Tragedy: 1,479 confirmed fatalities. Verified lists identify nearly 1,500 victims, including children, the elderly, and entire families. Violence was documented across 40 distinct massacre sites, primarily in the Latakia and Tartous regions. Entire villages were emptied of residents, with property confiscated and homes systematically looted or burned (Systematic Community Erasure). Patterns of Systemic Violence: Investigations identified a chain of command linking attackers to national Defence and Interior ministries. Reports confirm 33 documented cases of kidnapped Alawite women and girls aged 16 to 39. International observers cite mass killings and systemic displacement as red flags for genocidal violence. Independent Death Toll Assessments (March 2025 Events): Reuters Investigation — 1,479 (Alawite victims only). Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — 1,557 (total civilian deaths). Syrian Network for Human Rights — 1,662 (combined civilian and combatant total).
Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the March Massacre of Syrian Alawites. We remember the victims, pray for their souls, and hope for a Syria where all can live in harmony.
I'd argue WW3 started in 2015, the moment the Syrian war became openly a global one.
"The absence of justification is not incidental. It is a morbid symptom of an international system in crisis."
"If stories that represent me aren't [set] in the future, then something terrible must have happened to me in the present.”
THE REPUBLIC OF MEMORY 🚀 is out in May with @sagapressbooks.bsky.social & @gollancz.bsky.social
Just me, gazing into the far-flung sci-fi future, on the front page of The Bookseller 🚀
Aspiring global majority authors based in the UK, if you write SFF check out this year's Future Worlds Prize before it's too late. It could change your life!
One thing that makes A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms great: it spotlights the little people, not just princes and lords. #AKOTSK
Fellow #amquerying writers doubting our craft: It's a marathon of more downs than ups.
My hack? Scroll Goodreads 1-star reviews of fave famous books: Sometimes they hate it for why you love it.
Remember, you're just 2 yeses away from publishing. Keep going!
#WritingCommunity
You can read my Azhar Prize winner short story, "War and War" in French now!
“Why dragons are the best fantasy creatures” on Substack: Bookseeds, with the cover of The Blazing Book of Dragons and the subtitle “There may be dragons.”
I wrote a blog about why dragons are the best fantasy creatures and some of the things that inspired the stories in the new book:
open.substack.com/pub/melanier...
My book, THE REPUBLIC OF MEMORY, is available for request on NetGalley.
"When you speak a different language, you become another person..."
bit.ly/4rTIGgE
Crurge? 🤔
I spot a familiar name on the cover 👀👀👀👀
Thank you!
A story forged in beloved fantasy traditions Heist, morally grey protagonists, court intrigue, found family, fallen order, secret histories
CLINGING TO THE STONES explores:
💫Humans vs. Structures.
💫The weight of history & legacy.
💫Can we reshape our dying world without compromising our morality?
💫When faith is a weapon, who is truly saved?
#QuestPit #Q #A #F #agentsguide #SFF #amquerying #booktwt
A Tapestry of Traitors, Mothers, and Zealots Acyrnar Hamilkarth: the Reluctant Traitor. Beonlod Thousand-Acres-In-Blood: The Uncompromising Zealot Tula-Melam of Karalia: The Rebel Mother. Esra the Siren: The Streetwise Survivor. Archpivot Izahmin: The Architect of Faith. Lord Ronsler Knad: The Unwitting Diplomat. Thalbrecht Fon Reon: The Scholar Chronicler.
Meet the characters of CLINGING TO THE STONES:
🎭3 primary POVs.
🧐3 more lurking behind.
🧵A tapestry where every thread matters.
#QuestPit #Q #A #F #agentsguide #SFF #amquerying #booktwt
Thanks mate!
Fantastic concept and pitch!
HAZELTHORN X THE SPIRIT BARES ITS TEETH
Journals of a Familiar
Hawthorne has never left the cathedral. Raised in silence and prepared for a future he doesn't understand, everything changes when he meets Violet, a witch with wild dreams of escape.
#questpit #W #YA #H #LGBT
About time 🙂
Thank you!
A KINGDOM TO DROWN ME
Will the weight of an underwater kingdom come crashing down on Mona Al'Maii?
🦅 Forced Proximity
✨ Middle-Eastern folklore & unique magic system
⚔️ Quest
♥️ Yearning & spice
⚖️ Magical politics/Corruption & Greed
🪞 Exploration of ‘otherness’
💫 23 fulls
#Questpit #Q #RF
Agents guide for Lady Han's Manual for Matrimonial Mayhem, 91K adult fantasy romcom, revised through SmoochPit 2025 mentorship
Pitch - She planned to be the terror in his life. He planned to ignore her. Neither planned on saving a crumbling empire from a tyrant—or falling in love. Twenty-year-old Wen Anling would sooner commit murder than give up her home and freedom. But with no way out of her arranged marriage to Han Shiyan, the wealthy Lord of Qinglan, she devises a plan: let him be the one to beg for divorce… once she transforms herself into the nastiest wife possible. Shiyan only married Anling to honour his mother’s dying wish. Had he known his new wife would send his simple life straight to mayhem, he would have thrown honour out the nearest window. He struggles to see any good beneath Anling’s heavily powdered face, overly red lips, and shrill screams, but when she continues to get under his skin, he cannot help but grow intrigued—especially after catching his first glimpses of the real Anling beneath her prickly exterior. While Anling wrestles with her desire to escape the prison of marriage and he
Comps The Darkness Within Us - cunning, unlikeble heroine, enemies-to-lovers, drives him up the wall but he can't help falling A Song to Drown Rivers - Chiense history-inspired setting, political intrigue & schemes How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days - romantic comedy, slow burn, lots of banter
Extract & Tropes - Multicultural w/ POC leads - Marriage of convenience - Enemies to power couple - Slow burn w/ a dose of spice The not so meet cute... Shiyan’s eyes widened for a heartbeat before he forced composure back onto his features. Her face was powdered with a thick layer of white, as if she had simply dunked it into a bowl of flour. Her bright red lip-paint smudged at the edges and… Heavens forbid women dab their cheeks with uneven blobs of pink. Even the most senile and stern of his guests held their hands to their stomachs, straining to hold back fits of laughter. He would have gladly joined them, too, if he wasn’t the one with the honour of marrying this… this… buffoon. He swallowed and recited the wise sayings of his forefathers: one should not judge a book by its cover; a woman’s beauty runs deeper than appearances; virtues are lasting while beauty is fleeting. Oh, to hell with wise sayings. An eyesore was an eyesore no matter how virtuous it might be.
A cunning prankster plots against her lord husband and ends up saving the empire in a fantasy romcom version of A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS X HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS
😈 unlikeable heroine
⚔️ enemies-to-power couple
💑 marriage of convenience
🔥 slow-burn & low spice
#questpit #Q #A #RF #agentsguide
Editor’s Guide To: The Things We Run For YA Drama Mystery with Romance 94k Words Represented by Amanda Wooden at SBR Media
4/13/1996 Run. What a powerful instinct. Emma Bridge had wanted nothing more than to be with her two siblings in a home that felt safe, but those wishes never came true. With nothing left to lose, Emma runs away from the spotlight of the Hills to a small town across the country, but this new home is anything but the safety she’d been after. The weight of the world has fallen on her shoulders, and she can’t carry it alone. But with her old name in every police station and her new name on every tongue in town, she’s not sure who she can trust to help carry the burden.
What we know: -Runaway in Hiding -Fake Identity (turned real identity) -Mental Health Rep -Genderfluid and Pan Rep -Found Family -90s Small-Town Nostalgia At the bottom, the name Emma Bridge is crossed out and replaced with Peyton Freys
6/23/1996 “The Hills have Eyes” There’s a collage of pictures. Picture one is of two people, one sitting on the counter with the other in front of them. Picture two is go a small-town street with snowy homes to either side. Picture three shows a row of high school desks. Picture four shows a box of police evidence. Picture five shows a group of kids sitting behind an abandoned building. Picture six shows someone flipping off a police car. Picture seven shows a paper with the words “Child Custody Hearing” printed on it. The last picture shows a boy sitting at a school desk, writing something into a notebook. In the bottom right, it says Going on submission in 2026
#Editors THE THINGS WE RUN FOR ( #OnSubmission 2026!)
Emma Bridge ran to find a safe home, but the town she picked is anything but. When she gets wrapped up in a cold case that threatens her siblings, who can she turn to while keeping her secrets safe?
#QuestPit #YA #MY #R
#AG #OS #OWN #LGBT
An Agent Guide to GUMIHO 86,000 word adult folklore fantasy blended with horror and romance By Jennifer Luce
The pitch: Cursed with a vengeful gumiho, Mina has spent centuries feeding it souls to become a god—and now she needs just one more, but when she falls for her final target, she must choose: face her demons and sever the curse before the gumiho consumes her from the inside out, or achieve godhood and lose herself to become something truly monstrous.
For fans of... SUCH SHARP TEETH by Rachel Harrison - physical transformation & emotional vulnerability THE FOX WIFE by Yangsze Choo - East Asian Folklore MY DEMON - Redemption through connection THE GLORY - Morally gray anti-hero
First Lines Bright droplets of red bloomed against the crisp, white snow. A trail, unbeknownst to my victim, that would lead to his demise.
Hi #Questpit! Nearly done w/ SmoochPit revisions, here's GUMIHO, my Korean folklore-inspired adult fantasy blended w/ horror & romance!
✨️ Selected for the 2025 Smoochpit Mentorship Program
✨️ Big 5 Editor Interest
✨️ Won 3rd in the horror category of the 2025 PNWA Writing Contest
#A #F #H #R
A collage of photos: John Singer Sargent’s “Portrait of Madame X,” a painting of a young woman in a sleeveless black dress; a classroom with a dark green chalkboard illuminated by the sun, with several wooden desks; library books on a shelf held behind iron bars; a man and woman embracing, both in rather woolly sweaters; a picture taken over the shoulder of a woman who is holding a polaroid picture of another woman; several drooping, dying flowers against a dark background; 7 or 8 old books, lying on floorboards, and with their pages opened as if the books had been dropped; a pink and white flip phone with a heart charm on its closed cover, next to a bottle of pink nail polish and a pink lipgloss; a black and white photo of a young woman in ¾ profile with her eyes mostly closed—over this the title of the WIP “Surface Tension” is superimposed.
WORKHORSE x THE RACHEL INCIDENT
SURFACE TENSION: She came for a degree, not an affair. But as Jenny researches literary heroines who trade freedom for security, she starts living her thesis, all beneath the eye of a professor who prefers the only revisions to her story be his. #U #W #A #questpit
The image, made with free non-AI stock pictures, shows a horror-comedy novel cover titled "DAD BODIES." The top of the cover reads "THE GAME JUST TOOK A DAD TURN" with "DAD" in a different color. The background features a haunted house with multiple towers and illuminated windows against a dark backdrop. At the center is a 20-sided die (D20) used in tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, with visible numbers including 1, 7, 13, and 19. The die is surrounded by red blood splatter effects. At the bottom of the cover are six men with expressions of terror and shock. One man is wearing a white shirt over his head. These men are the dads referenced in the title.
CABIN IN THE WOODS × JOHN DIES AT THE END
When their detective friend is murdered at their annual gaming retreat, 5 dads must rely on years of #TTRPG experience—and puns—to solve the crime before they're all killed off like NPCs in a badly written supernatural campaign.
#QuestPit #A #H #MY #Q
Thanks 😊
